The IOM has recommended that the development of voluntary reporting efforts should be encouraged, and has suggested convening sponsors and users of external reporting systems to evaluate what works and what does not work well in the programs, as well as ways to make them more effective. The objective of this proposed conference is to convene participants from 20 hospitals that have participated in the MEDMARX medication error reporting program for at least five years, as well as other participants, to determine how hospitals have utilized medication error data to improve patient safety. The overall goal is to provide a forum for exploring the following questions: [unreadable] What types of information from the reporting system have participants found most useful? [unreadable] Have they developed any methods for improving data collection and data quality? [unreadable] What strategies and tools have been most helpful for data analysis? For event investigation? [unreadable] For feedback to reporters and managers? [unreadable] What types of interventions have been implemented? What strategies for organizational change [unreadable] have been utilized? How have they evaluated the effects of interventions? [unreadable] What suggestions do they have for more recent MEDMARX users? For improving MEDMARX? [unreadable] For other adverse event reporting systems? For building a national patient safety database? [unreadable] [unreadable] Results from this conference will be directly applicable to AHRQ's mission to improve the quality, [unreadable] safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. It is specifically relevant to AHRQ's efforts to develop system strategies for reducing medical errors, improving patient safety, and administering the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act. Information resulting from this conference will help inform clinicians, researchers, and policy makers who are seeking to improve the value obtained from patient safety reporting systems and ultimately to reduce preventable harm to patients. The conference participants, who will have substantial experience with reporting systems, may also offer insights that will be valuable for the creation of the proposed national patient safety database, as well as for improving local reporting systems that will submit information to the national system. (Proposed conference date: November 2006) [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]